Malacañang on Saturday announced the appointment of Emmanuel Leyco as the officer-in-charge of the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

"Mr. Leyco is not new to the DSWD. He is currently the Undersecretary for Finance and Administration. We wish him all the best," China Jocson, assistant to the presidential spokesperson, said in an interview on state radio DZRB.

Leyco's new designations will be "effective immediately," Jocson added.

Leyco will head the social welfare department while President Rodrigo Duterte looks for a replacement for former DSWD chief Judy Taguiwalo who was rejected by the Commission on Appointments earlier this week.